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Sly
Premium Member
join:2004-02-20
Tennessee

1 recommendation

Sly to stev32k

Premium Member

to stev32k

Re: Tomato planting time

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First I set out some edging stones for drainage
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Drilled some holes
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Put in some coconut husk netting
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Put in 1in PVC pipes
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Filled with 3 bags of organic top soil
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Planted a Roma, Beefsteak, and Yellow Jubilee tomato in 3 cans
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Got some nasty fish sauce smelling plant food
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4 tablespoons per can
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Filled with water to mix in plant food and to settle the soil
The water took about 5 minutes to drain down. Last night we got a light frost and so I took your advice and covered them with 36 gallon trash bags. Worked perfect. This morning they looked great when I pulled the bags off.

This is my first time doing them this way. We'll see how it goes. I also pruned the plants to remove branches that didn't have any flowers on them. Wish me luck.
Moffetts
join:2005-05-09
San Mateo, CA

Moffetts

Member

Fish emulsion is worth the horrid smell.

stev32k
Premium Member
join:2000-04-27
Mobile, AL

1 edit

stev32k to Sly

Premium Member

to Sly
said by Sly:

The water took about 5 minutes to drain down. Last night we got a light frost and so I took your advice and covered them with 36 gallon trash bags. Worked perfect. This morning they looked great when I pulled the bags off.

This is my first time doing them this way. We'll see how it goes. I also pruned the plants to remove branches that didn't have any flowers on them. Wish me luck.

I know you will have more tomatoes than you know what to do with. I end up giving more away than I eat. Some years the neighbors would pretend they were not home when I came with another bag of tomatoes .

Probably the most critical part of growing them in containers is water. The soil temperature in the can will get pretty warm and that stimulates growth and also makes the plants take up more water than if they were planted in a regular garden. The roots cannot spread out like they would in the ground so the only water they have is what you add.

Not only do they require more water, but it needs to come at regular intervals. This is especially important when the tomatoes get almost full grown. As they grow the plant is literally pumping water into the fruit all the time. The amount of water depends on how much is available in the soil. As the tomato starts maturing the outer skin starts to harden and if the water supply is erratic the plant pumps a lot when a lot is available and less when there is less. So if the skin starts to harden and the plant suddenly pumps more water than usual the skin will split causing radial cracking.

It took me several years to figure out why so many of my tomatoes were cracking and splitting. Since coming up with my watering plan it's rare for any of them to split.

P.S. Keep me up to date on their progress. I'm interested in how the fish emulsion works out. I use miracle grow tomato plant food, but have considered the fish emulsion (but hate the smell ).

Sly
Premium Member
join:2004-02-20
Tennessee

Sly

Premium Member

[update] I had to replant my tomatoes. I went on vacation for a week and it frosted while I was gone. I don't know if it was a good idea or not but I sowed a few carrot seeds in there as well as I've heard carrots and tomatoes do well together.

stev32k
Premium Member
join:2000-04-27
Mobile, AL

1 edit

stev32k

Premium Member

Sorry to hear about losing your plants. Mine are growing like crazy. I picked the first tomato on May 4, two more are ready to eat now, and two others are about a week off. I was a little disappointed in the size since all of them weighed between 9 - 11 oz and I was expecting 14 - 18 oz.



Both plants are loaded up with fruit ranging in size from buttons to grapefruit. The Parks Whopper plant is now 60" inches tall and is growing at the rate of about 28" per month. The Goliath plant is a little shorter at 48" and is growing about 22" per month. Both plants are putting out clusters about 6 - 7 inches apart. If that growth rate continues the Parks whopper will be about 20' tall at the end of the season.




I've started attaching guy wires from the container handles to the PVC supports to limit swaying. We had some 25 mph winds and the uprights were moving back and forth quite a bit.

I also wrapped shade cloth around the containers to block off the sunlight. I measured a surface temperature of 120 deg F when they were exposed direct sun. The soil temperature didn't get above 90, but I was concerned about the plastic containers themselves being damaged by UV and cracking like one did last year.

Sorry, but the pictures will not upload. Tried three times and get an internal server error each time. I'll try again later.

Edit: Got the pics uploaded